To The Editor:

The spending circus and the political payoffs in the two school systems should be put in context by recalling the little scam that surfaced when Republican Club Vice President Richard Ciullo showed up at a council meeting last year supposedly in his capacity as a newly elected member of the Central Regional School Board.

Councilman Abbe Wanted School Boards Covered By Pay-To-Play Regs; Ciullo Begged Council To Let Him Handle It

The council was deliberating the adoption of a pay-to-play ordinance which restricted the acceptance of campaign contributions from vendors doing business with the Township.

Council President Nat Abbe recommended the Council also include school board elections in the new pay-to-play ordinance because school costs outstrip local government costs – and school tax rates are very high.

Councilman Abbe was a member of the New York School Board for 5 years before retiring to Berkeley Township; he is painfully aware of the patronage and payoff implications for school board members tempted to sell out to political bosses.

Ciullo, Amato, DePaola Reneged On Commitment
To Include School Boards In Pay-To-Play Curbs

On behalf of Central Regional President Carmen Amato (Berkeley GOP Chairman) and Berkeley School Board member Anthony DePaola (GOP Club President), Ciullo asked the Council to exempt school board elections from the pay-to-play ordinance.

Ciullo promised the school boards would adopt their own pay-to-play regulations, a pledge the council took at face value, believing he and Amato and DePaola would honor the commitment.

What A Phony: Ciullo Blew Off Pay-To-Play
Commitment "The Instant He Left The Room"

Ciullo, of course, forgot about the pay-to-play commitment the instant he left the room, and nothing whatsoever was done by him or Amato or DePaola about pay-to-play.

I checked Election Law Enforcement Commission records which show the only reported contribution for Mr. Ciullo’s school board campaign last year was $1000 from the engineering firm of Remington and Vernick, who were paid more than $250,000 for a portion of the work on recent construction projects for the elementary schools.

Ciullo Never Disclosed Who Gave $9775
In Pay-To-Play Funding For His Campaign

The balance of funding for Mr. Ciullo’s campaign came from $9775 in “contributions of $400 or less” which Ciullo reported without detailing any of the individual contributions.

Council Should Force The Issue

Clearly, the whole thing doesn’t pass the smell test. The council should immediately adopt the rest of the pay-to-play ordinance, the part that covers school board members, and make it retroactive to last year’s school election. Ciullo would then be forced to detail the $9775 and tell Berkeley residents who gave him the money.

Round Up The Usual Suspects

I'll make a bet we have a case of “round up the usual suspects.”

Jim Redmond - Berkeley Township

This story prepared for publication 3/15/05.